Something Uncomfortable: Day 44

http://www.facebook.com/SomethingUncomfortableSteppingFromFearToFreedom

We had a playdate at the park this morning. One of our friends brought her dog. I am not the biggest fan of dogs (there was an incident with a German Shepperd when I was little). This dog is truly a sweet dog, so I was in no way bothered that he was there. My daughter, on the other hand, was terrified.

My clan has it's share of allergies, so the general rule of thumb has been: don't touch the animals. If we are with them and can easily wash the kids' hands, we bend that rule. Sadly, my daughter's internal interpretation of this rule has been: Dogs are vile, terrifying beasts that must be avoided at all costs! Sigh! We have never wanted our kids to be afraid of animals, just cautious of them.

This morning, after several shrill screams, my friend suggested that my daughter come and touch the dog in order to see that he was nice. My daughter would have rather eaten pickled pigs' feet than touch the beast. 

In an instant, I realized that I needed to touch the dog. My avoiding them because of my allergies has clearly been misunderstood by my child. So I pet the dog and even let him lick my hand. Poor guy was probably thinking, "See lady, I'm not so bad." 

I wish I could tell you that my daughter rushed over and pet the dog. Instead she continued to look at me like I had lost my mind. But that's OK. It's taking me some time to work on my issues. I don't expect the three-year-old to conquer her greatest fear instantaneously. I'm guessing there will be some more dog-petting in my near future. The things we do for our babies ;)